Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte has called out people who find fault at the city government’s efforts to fight the coronavirus disease, saying all measures are for the good of Dabawenyos.
“Kung daghan ang mga nasakit ug mamatay, mag-reklamo tanan. Kung buhatan ug pamaagi para ma-control ang masakit ug mamatay, mag-reklamo pud tanan. So asa ninyo gusto ibutang ang inyohang gobyerno? (If many people get sick and die, everybody complains. If we take steps to prevent people from getting sick and die, everybody complains. So where do you place your government?),” Mayor Sara asked.
Mayor Sara stressed that the government is working overtime doing all means to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Wala mi Sunday kagahapon because gi-meetingan na siya (clustering) kagahapon. So samtang kamo naa mo’y Sunday kagahapon ang gobyerno kagahapon naghuna-huna paunsa dili mo masakit tanan ug ‘di mo mangamatay tanan (We do not have a Sunday break because we met yesterday to discuss it (clustering). While you were having your Sunday break, the government worked for you not getting sick and do not die),” she added.
Since the city government declared different community quarantine levels since March, several lockdown measures have been imposed to slow the coronavirus outbreak in the city.
To address basic needs and delivery of services while the city government imposed strict stay-at-home measures, food rations, agri-food deliveries, and hot meals on wheels are delivered to families, vulnerable individuals, and those displaced by the temporary closures of some establishments during the quarantine period.
Davao City’s food programs are the food ration run by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), the Agri-food Program jointly implemented by the City Agriculturist Office (CAO) and City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO), the Hot Meals (Lomi and Lugaw) on Wheels program, the barangay rice distribution program ration and the community cooking in upland areas by the Davao City Peace 911.
The latest of the control measures is the district clustering. The City Government of Davao has implemented the number coding of food and medicine passes wherein only passes starting with numbers 1,3,5,7,9 are allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. FM passes with numbers starting 2,4,6,8,0 are used Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No FM passes are allowed on Sundays.
And to decongest Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) of people with coronavirus cases, the city government opened seven centers to house the rising numbers of people suspected to have contracted the coronavirus.
Despite all these efforts, some Dabawenyos continue to violate stay-at-home orders and physical distancing. Some even speed off checkpoints to avoid inspections.
These clear violations have prompted the city government to extend the community quarantine period as coronavirus disease still unfolding.
In the latest figures, Davao City has 92 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 16 deaths, and 58 number of recoveries.
The city has named Buhangin and Talomo districts as coronavirus hotspots having the highest number of cases as of April 18, 2020. CIO
